Messed around as a freelancer

Not too serious a problem, but just looking for some advice.

I do freelance editing work and was offered a 'trial' by a company (it's really one woman with a couple of assistants) before the summer. The idea was that I'd edit a few documents for a low rate, they'd be checked by the owner of the company who would give me feedback and if all was well, I'd be taken on as a long-term freelancer. I did the trial jobs and all was well. She was very happy with my work. After the last trial, I got no feedback at all. I waited a week and then e-mailed asking if everything was OK with my work. A few days after that, she replied that the work was great, but that things were looking quiet for the summer and she wouldn't be able to take me on as a freelancer. She said that she'd probably have work for me after the summer. I felt pretty annoyed about this - not because she couldn't take me on (I knew that was always a possibility) but I found it really unprofessional of her to leave me hanging and not even bother to let me know. I politely replied that that was fine and to feel free to get in touch in September.

She did contact me in early September, asking if I'd edit something. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and so did my best with the piece. She'd claimed it had already been edited by another freelancer and that it shouldn't take me long at all to look it over, hence a relatively low rate. I actually found a lot wrong with it and it took me quite a while to do. I submitted it and once again, heard nothing. After a couple of weeks, she e-mailed to thank me for the excellent work and to let me know that she actually wouldn't need to take on a freelancer for the autumn after all.

I'm really quite peed off with all this - I feel really messed around and disrespected. She didn't really live up to her end of the deal (she never gave me feedback for the last 2 things I did) and left me hanging for days on end, not knowing what was going on.

Here's the issue - As I'm sick of being messed around, I've decided to set up my own company and find my own clients. I'd be in direct competition with this woman, looking for the same clients. Is this at all morally dubious (given that this woman did give me useful feedback at the beginning and some basic info on software) or is it fine (given that she paid me very low rates for good work, misled me about future opportunities and didn't bother to contact me several times)?

Topper Harley

Not morally dubious at all. You've done very little work for her and at the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you, so that you can earn a living.

You'll want to avoid pissing off the wrong people and getting yourself blacklisted in your industry but you're not doing anything underhand here at all and you're work and attitude to your clients will speak for themselves. People will always feel a bit threatened by new competition but they just have to deal with it.

One option you have after you've set up on you're own is to offer this woman a partnership for subcontracting work to your company during busy spells instead of hiring freelancers. This could benefit both of you.

Mrs OBumble

Moved from Work & Jobs.

EIREHotspur

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

Here's the issue - As I'm sick of being messed around, I've decided to set up my own company and find my own clients. I'd be in direct competition with this woman, looking for the same clients. Is this at all morally dubious (given that this woman did give me useful feedback at the beginning and some basic info on software) or is it fine ?

Adidas and Puma may be among the most recognized brands in the world, but neither might exist if not for a bitter rivalry between two brothers from a little-known village in Germany. In the 1920s, Adolf (Adi) Dassler, a soft-spoken sports fanatic who spent hours working on shoe designs in his workshop, and Rudolf Dassler, a gregarious salesman, started a small shoemaking business in the Bavarian enclave of Herzogenaurach, focusing primarily on hand-sewn athletic footwear. But as their business took off, the two brothers grew increasingly frustrated with each other. They disagreed on everything from politics, the future of the company and one another's choice in wives.

Finally, in the mid-1940s Rudolf left in a huff and set up a rival shop across the river, while Adi remained in the initial plant. His company was renamed Adidas, and in 1948 Rudolf registered his new company, Puma. NEWSWEEK's Jennifer Barrett spoke with Barbara Smit, author of the new book "Sneaker Wars" (Ecco; $26.95), about how a family feud spawned two of the biggest brands in global sports. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Most people wearing Pumas or Adidas today likely have no idea that two estranged German brothers founded the companies. How did you become interested in their story?
Barbara Smit: I didn't know it either, actually. I'd been wearing Adidas all my life and had no idea. But I was sent to Herzogenaurach, Germany [where both companies are based] by a French magazine to write a feature ahead of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. I began to find out more about this story of the two brothers, [and it had] all the elements of what makes a good story: family drama, the intimate rivalry between the two brothers in a very closed setting, two international brands, and all of it set in the world of sports.

Duckjob

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

Not too serious a problem, but just looking for some advice.

I do freelance editing work and was offered a 'trial' by a company (it's really one woman with a couple of assistants) before the summer. The idea was that I'd edit a few documents for a low rate, they'd be checked by the owner of the company who would give me feedback and if all was well, I'd be taken on as a long-term freelancer. I did the trial jobs and all was well. She was very happy with my work. After the last trial, I got no feedback at all. I waited a week and then e-mailed asking if everything was OK with my work. A few days after that, she replied that the work was great, but that things were looking quiet for the summer and she wouldn't be able to take me on as a freelancer. She said that she'd probably have work for me after the summer. I felt pretty annoyed about this - not because she couldn't take me on (I knew that was always a possibility) but I found it really unprofessional of her to leave me hanging and not even bother to let me know. I politely replied that that was fine and to feel free to get in touch in September.

She did contact me in early September, asking if I'd edit something. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and so did my best with the piece. She'd claimed it had already been edited by another freelancer and that it shouldn't take me long at all to look it over, hence a relatively low rate. I actually found a lot wrong with it and it took me quite a while to do. I submitted it and once again, heard nothing. After a couple of weeks, she e-mailed to thank me for the excellent work and to let me know that she actually wouldn't need to take on a freelancer for the autumn after all.

I'm really quite peed off with all this - I feel really messed around and disrespected. She didn't really live up to her end of the deal (she never gave me feedback for the last 2 things I did) and left me hanging for days on end, not knowing what was going on.

Here's the issue - As I'm sick of being messed around, I've decided to set up my own company and find my own clients. I'd be in direct competition with this woman, looking for the same clients. Is this at all morally dubious (given that this woman did give me useful feedback at the beginning and some basic info on software) or is it fine (given that she paid me very low rates for good work, misled me about future opportunities and didn't bother to contact me several times)?

Not morally dubious at all, she's looking after her own interests and you have every right to look after yours.

Out of your dealings with her so far - you got useful feedback and information, she got someone who she didn't have to employ, but who was at her beck and call as soon as she needed something, and who provided her with a good quality service, and which from the sound of it she didnt have to pay much for - she's done well out of you!

Incidentally, she doesnt sound like a particularly valuable client to have, if you get some good paying clients, I would suggest moving her to the back of the queue and dealing with her on your terms only. In particular, this would raise the hackles straight-away:

She'd claimed it had already been edited by another freelancer and that it shouldn't take me long at all to look it over, hence a relatively low rate.

Nothing more annoying than somebody who does not know how to do your job/profession trying to dictate to you in advance how "easy" a job is. That's a red flag you should always listen for when dealing with a new potential client - a good one, who is respectful of your knowledge and experience will always just ask for your assessment/quote not try to dictate it.

rovoagho

Go for it op. I don't have any employees yet but when I do, if one of them decided to crack on on their own and tried stealing my customers, well, I'd be pissed off, but such is the nature of business. If I treated him with the disrespect or carelessness this woman showed, I'd deserve it. Fire ahead, and good luck.

Duckjob

rovoagho wrote: »

Go for it op. I don't have any employees yet but when I do, if one of them decided to crack on on their own and tried stealing my customers, well, I'd be pissed off, but such is the nature of business. If I treated him with the disrespect or carelessness this woman showed, I'd deserve it. Fire ahead, and good luck.

If OP had been given "employed" by this woman, or even on a long term contract/retainer, she might have some reason to be pissed off. In reality she hasnt given the OP anything bar 2 small fleeting jobs and by the sound of it she did well out out of the OP being available.

You get what you give - OP owes this person nothing.

rovoagho

He was given money to edit the documents. It was a low rate but he agreed to it, and he decided himself to go back the second time even given the previous experience. She sounds like a b1tch, but she didn't tie him up and make him do it.

It's irrelevant anyway, he's moving on now and he can learn from his mistake, and hers.

Cianos

It's all in the game. Nothing morally dubious about it. Although if it is very quiet out there (ie going by what she's telling you), then are you sure it's worth the effort?

seanaway

There's nothing wrong with trying to compete. That's what business lives on. Why not broaden your horizons and go international though? Ireland is a small market whatever field you're in. Try checking out things like elance. odesk and so on online. You will have a world of clients there.

Peterdalkey

OP, some sound advice given. I suspect you are a somewhat shocked by her treatment of you. That I am afraid is rthe real workld of business, learn from it and move on. It is such experiences that toughen you up and help you weed out the genuine from the chancers in the future. I would be really surprised that this is her first episode of using such tactics, but there are none more gullible than the niaive. You are now wiser and you are fired up.. in a perverse sort of way she may have actually done you a favour, though not deliberately!

Good luck.

rovoagho

Cianos wrote: »

It's all in the game.

Business is not a game.

Gloomtastic!

rovoagho wrote: »

Business is not a game.

Depends who you're playing against! :P

The Corinthian

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

She didn't really live up to her end of the deal (she never gave me feedback for the last 2 things I did) and left me hanging for days on end, not knowing what was going on.

There was no deal.

If she'd said that she would book X number of billable hours work upon the successful completion of your trial work, then sure. Or even if she'd implied that there definitely would be work. But all she did was say that "she'd probably have work for [you] after the Summer" - do you see that 'probably' there? Unfortunately the work wasn't there and so you didn't benefit.

A lot of freelancing involves in a sunk cost when seeking contracts. Replying to RFT's, buying lunch for a prospective client, writing up proposals or prototypes that you want to sell. Most of this is time spent is really time down the drain.

It's all about doing a cost-benefit-analysis on this kind of 'marketing'. How much will the business be worth? How much will the free work cost you? Is this person likely to actually have work or are they just tyre-kickers? The better you can assess, the better you can judge how much time you should put into a pitch, if you should even bother at all - at the end of the day, if you pitch for five gigs and only one converts, you'll want that this one gig also covers the cost of your failed pitches.

So it'll always be an overhead, but at least in time you'll be able to minimize it.

Atomico

Spend a minimum amount of time on 'loose', not very promising prospects, and enough time on the high quality ones that look promising. That's 'enough', not 'lots'!

The Corinthian

Thanks for the advice.

The Corinthian wrote: »

There was no deal.

If she'd said that she would book X number of billable hours work upon the successful completion of your trial work, then sure. Or even if she'd implied that there definitely would be work. But all she did was say that "she'd probably have work for [you] after the Summer" - do you see that 'probably' there? Unfortunately the work wasn't there and so you didn't benefit.

Yes, there was. Read my post. The deal was that I'd work for less than the usual rate and she'd provide feedback for me. A 'trainee' or 'intern' type set up. I did the work, she didn't provide the feedback, hence she didn't live up to her end of the deal.

I'm not annoyed that there was no work for me (as I stated in the OP). I'm annoyed that 1) she didn't provide the feedback she promised and 2) she left me hanging without even bothering to tell me what was going on, which in my eyes is not only rude and inconsiderate, but unprofessional.

rovoagho

rovoagho wrote: »

He was given money to edit the documents. It was a low rate but he agreed to it, and he decided himself to go back the second time even given the previous experience. She sounds like a b1tch, but she didn't tie him up and make him do it.

It's irrelevant anyway, he's moving on now and he can learn from his mistake, and hers.

I agreed to the low rate because she was meant to be giving me feedback. She didn't give me all the feedback. That's really dishonest and not really all that different to underpaying me, IMO.

I did give her a second chance because the work she had was really interesting and I thought there was a small chance that she was just really snowed under the first time around. TBH, I'm still happier that I confirmed that she's unprofessional and rude and I'm not thinking 'ah, she might have been good to work for'. Now I know, and that's grand. I don't feel bad about setting up on my own.

seanaway wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with trying to compete. That's what business lives on. Why not broaden your horizons and go international though? Ireland is a small market whatever field you're in. Try checking out things like elance. odesk and so on online. You will have a world of clients there.

I live in the UK, but am planning to go international. Not sure about elance and odesk, though...there seems to be way too much competition on there and way too many people from Pakistan and India working for next to nothing...just seems like a race to the bottom.

The Corinthian

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

Yes, there was. Read my post. The deal was that I'd work for less than the usual rate and she'd provide feedback for me. A 'trainee' or 'intern' type set up. I did the work, she didn't provide the feedback, hence she didn't live up to her end of the deal.

If the feedback was in the form of a written testimonial that you can use in the future, then I can understand, but if not you really should just get over it.

Yes, it's rude. Even unprofessional. But then again it's also life. If you send out your CV to recruitment agencies and they never bother replying, that too is both rude and unprofessional, but are you really going to get hung up on it? If you issue an invoice and your client end up going overdue before finally paying, are you going to get upset?

You could, but it would be a waste of your time to do so. Worry about the important issues - I didn't even bother to consider it as part of the 'deal' when I read your OP because it's so trivial.

The Corinthian

The Corinthian wrote: »

If the feedback was in the form of a written testimonial that you can use in the future, then I can understand, but if not you really should just get over it.

Yes, it's rude. Even unprofessional. But then again it's also life. If you send out your CV to recruitment agencies and they never bother replying, that too is both rude and unprofessional, but are you really going to get hung up on it? If you issue an invoice and your client end up going overdue before finally paying, are you going to get upset?

You could, but it would be a waste of your time to do so. Worry about the important issues - I didn't even bother to consider it as part of the 'deal' when I read your OP because it's so trivial.

No, the feedback was just supposed to help me and give me an idea of my standard of work as I'd never worked as an editor professionally before. I've done similar work, but not exactly the kind of stuff she does. Would you promise to give someone feedback as payment for work they were doing for you, then not bother giving it? I certainly wouldn't. It's hardly keeping me awake at night, though.

I know it's life. Never said it wasn't. I'm not sure what you got out of my OP, because I certainly wasn't asking if I should be upset. I was asking whether or not starting up my own business and potentially taking on some of her clients would be a d1ck move or not. If she had been really great to work for, I wouldn't do it, but as she was so rude and unprofessional, I don't really see the harm, and I was just asking if people agreed with that or whether her shoddy treatment of me had clouded my judgement and sense of ethics. That was the point. Pretty much everyone told me I had nothing to worry about and to go ahead, so I have gone ahead.

You're the one who seems hung up on 'trivial issues', not me.

The Corinthian

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

You're the one who seems hung up on 'trivial issues', not me.

Yes, because I started a thread on the subject. I'll try not to waste your time in the future then.

Jason Pitiful Stork

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

No, the feedback was just supposed to help me and give me an idea of my standard of work as I'd never worked as an editor professionally before. I've done similar work, but not exactly the kind of stuff she does. Would you promise to give someone feedback as payment for work they were doing for you, then not bother giving it? I certainly wouldn't. It's hardly keeping me awake at night, though.

I know it's life. Never said it wasn't. I'm not sure what you got out of my OP, because I certainly wasn't asking if I should be upset. I was asking whether or not starting up my own business and potentially taking on some of her clients would be a d1ck move or not. If she had been really great to work for, I wouldn't do it, but as she was so rude and unprofessional, I don't really see the harm, and I was just asking if people agreed with that or whether her shoddy treatment of me had clouded my judgement and sense of ethics. That was the point. Pretty much everyone told me I had nothing to worry about and to go ahead, so I have gone ahead.

You're the one who seems hung up on 'trivial issues', not me.

If its an ethical issue your worried about, I believe the bad ethics of another shouldn't change your own ethics. If you go down that path then in time you will also be a prick, and people will be asking the same questions about dealing with you. In my opinion your either ethical or your not, once you cross the line various things after that that are unethical will blur into 'necessary', 'vengeance' "just business" and so on.
In my opinion the only lesson here is that you get things down on paper and signed off and never assume anyone will ever stick to what they have said.

Someone mentioned early business is not a game. Well I would say to that person go out and get some more experience of real business because many people I know perceive it as a game, and when they screw someone - a competitor, a bank for example, they get the same kind of enjoyment out of it as scoring a goal or whatever. Business is very much a game to a lot of people.

The Corinthian

The Corinthian wrote: »

Yes, because I started a thread on the subject. I'll try not to waste your time in the future then.

For the last time, you somehow seem to have completely missed the point of my OP. I didn't start a thread asking whether or not I should be annoyed. I started a thread stating that I had been treated badly, didn't want to work for this outsourcer anymore and asking whether or not it would be a horrible thing to do to set up my own company targeting some of her client base.

The last paragraph states 'here's the issue...' which I would have thought was fairly clear. That's what I was asking for advice about, not whether or not I should be annoyed about how she treated me. The question is, given how she treated me, should I feel bad about setting up in competition with her?

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

If its an ethical issue your worried about, I believe the bad ethics of another shouldn't change your own ethics. If you go down that path then in time you will also be a prick, and people will be asking the same questions about dealing with you. In my opinion your either ethical or your not, once you cross the line various things after that that are unethical will blur into 'necessary', 'vengeance' "just business" and so on.
In my opinion the only lesson here is that you get things down on paper and signed off and never assume anyone will ever stick to what they have said.

Someone mentioned early business is not a game. Well I would say to that person go out and get some more experience of real business because many people I know perceive it as a game, and when they screw someone - a competitor, a bank for example, they get the same kind of enjoyment out of it as scoring a goal or whatever. Business is very much a game to a lot of people.

The issue is that I think it's very much up for debate whether it's unethical or not. Most people posting here reckon there's no problem whatsoever with starting up in competition with this woman or anyone else - that's business, that's life etc.

My personal ethics would make me feel very bad about going up against someone who had mentored me and helped me out, but given that she didn't do that, what is there to feel bad about? It's not that I'm trying to get back at her by setting up in competition, more that I see no reason not to.

The Corinthian

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

The last paragraph states 'here's the issue...' which I would have thought was fairly clear. That's what I was asking for advice about, not whether or not I should be annoyed about how she treated me. The question is, given how she treated me, should I feel bad about setting up in competition with her?

And pretty much everyone here has suggested that you're overreacting.

Indeed, are you thinking of going into competition because it's a thriving market, or because of what she did? Everything you've written points to the latter, down to her saying to you that there isn't enough work for her to pass onto you.

Ethically there are no barriers to you going into competition with her, from what you've described. However, your motivations for doing so don't appear to add up.

The Corinthian

The Corinthian wrote: »

And pretty much everyone here has suggested that you're overreacting.

Indeed, are you thinking of going into competition because it's a thriving market, or because of what she did? Everything you've written points to the latter, down to her saying to you that there isn't enough work for her to pass onto you.

Ethically there are no barriers to you going into competition with her, from what you've described. However, your motivations for doing so don't appear to add up.

Are you kidding me? Are we reading the same thread? You and one other poster were the only ones posting anything along those lines. Everyone else's post is pretty much 'yeah, she treated you badly, go ahead and don't feel bad about it'. How can you not see that you're the only poster who started obsessing over whether or not I should be annoyed about how I was treated?

The market is fairly good. The reason she doesn't have enough work is that she works full time on this herself, plus she has several long-term collaborators. She has enough work for 4-5 people and presumably was thinking of taking me on because she thought she'd need even more people. I'm one person and I only need enough work for me. I don't want to employ anyone. I don't even need to rely on it as my only source of income - I already have a day job and another freelance career in something related to this. I wanted to branch out a bit more into editing because I prefer it, and then maybe down the line start cutting down on the other work and focusing on the editing.

That's my motivation - I enjoy the work and want to do more of it. If she'd taken me on and not messed me around, I'd have been happy to keep working for her and not bothered setting up on my own.

The Corinthian

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

Are you kidding me? Are we reading the same thread? You and one other poster were the only ones posting anything along those lines. Everyone else's post is pretty much 'yeah, she treated you badly, go ahead and don't feel bad about it'. How can you not see that you're the only poster who started obsessing over whether or not I should be annoyed about how I was treated?

You keep telling yourself that. Good luck.

rovoagho

Deleted User wrote: »

If its an ethical issue your worried about, I believe the bad ethics of another shouldn't change your own ethics. If you go down that path then in time you will also be a prick, and people will be asking the same questions about dealing with you. In my opinion your either ethical or your not, once you cross the line various things after that that are unethical will blur into 'necessary', 'vengeance' "just business" and so on.
In my opinion the only lesson here is that you get things down on paper and signed off and never assume anyone will ever stick to what they have said.

Someone mentioned early business is not a game. Well I would say to that person go out and get some more experience of real business because many people I know perceive it as a game, and when they screw someone - a competitor, a bank for example, they get the same kind of enjoyment out of it as scoring a goal or whatever. Business is very much a game to a lot of people.

You realise your first and last paragraphs are antithetical, right?

I've been in business for 16 years now, and I'm getting by just fine without having to pretend I'm playing toy soldiers to make it worth my while, thanks. Other people feel the need, and that's their lookout, but I don't have to deal with them or play their games.

Middle managers in education, the public service and enterprises are the absolute worst for this kind of nonsense; the former two because they usually have tenure, the latter just because they think they're great. I'm perfectly happy for someone else to get rich on the back of their nonsense. Comfortable does me just fine.

rovoagho

rovoagho wrote: »

You realise your first and last paragraphs are antithetical, right?

I've been in business for 16 years now, and I'm getting by just fine without having to pretend I'm playing toy soldiers to make it worth my while, thanks. Other people feel the need, and that's their lookout, but I don't have to deal with them or play their games.

Middle managers in education, the public service and enterprises are the absolute worst for this kind of nonsense; the former two because they usually have tenure, the latter just because they think they're great. I'm perfectly happy for someone else to get rich on the back of their nonsense. Comfortable does me just fine.

No they are not antithetical in the context Im talking about. The first paragraph is advice on what choices you can make for your own personal ethics, and the second is simply the reality of people you go up against in business. For some people, scoring points is more important than making money, or can be more important at a given time. Its not toy soldiers whatsoever, its high level business.
You may have been in business 16 years, and maybe you have done 100 times better then me, but to be honest with you you either sound extremely naive, or you are just blessed in your line of work that you have not run into the type of business people I've run into in my years in business.

Jason Pitiful Stork

Jason Pitiful Stork wrote: »

My personal ethics would make me feel very bad about going up against someone who had mentored me and helped me out, but given that she didn't do that, what is there to feel bad about? It's not that I'm trying to get back at her by setting up in competition, more that I see no reason not to.

Sorry for some reason I thought you were planning on taking some of her existing clients, but looking back you just want to compete with her. Theres nothing wrong with that at all. Its not underhand at all. She might get pissed off because she mentored you, but I'm sure she'll remember at the same time what she did to you recently.
This sounds like a good incident for you actually that has inspired you to go out on your own. Many entrepreneurs were born having to battle against some kind of adversity, this sounds like yours!

Atomico

Hey OP,

This is really all no big deal. If you want to go out on your own just go for it - it has absolutely nothing to do with this woman whatsoever. If you were thinking about directly approaching her clients then yes, that would be a bit sneaky to say the least - but this is not what you are planning to do I gather.

Time to move on and get cracking on what it is you want to do, you can rest assured that this woman hasn't given you a second's thought since last dealing with you - so onwards and upwards!

The Corinthian

The Corinthian wrote: »

You keep telling yourself that. Good luck.

In all my years of posting on forums, I don't think I've ever encountered someone who actually tried to prove someone wrong with the evidence being right there on the screen. I don't know why you appear to have some sort of chip on your shoulder about me, but I'm actually a bit worried about you, if this isn't some sort of joke.

OK. Let's see. People answering the question I asked (page one, before you replied):

Not morally dubious at all. You've done very little work for her and at the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you, so that you can earn a living.

You'll want to avoid pissing off the wrong people and getting yourself blacklisted in your industry but you're not doing anything underhand here at all and you're work and attitude to your clients will speak for themselves. People will always feel a bit threatened by new competition but they just have to deal with it.

One option you have after you've set up on you're own is to offer this woman a partnership for subcontracting work to your company during busy spells instead of hiring freelancers. This could benefit both of you.

Adidas and Puma may be among the most recognized brands in the world, but neither might exist if not for a bitter rivalry between two brothers from a little-known village in Germany. In the 1920s, Adolf (Adi) Dassler, a soft-spoken sports fanatic who spent hours working on shoe designs in his workshop, and Rudolf Dassler, a gregarious salesman, started a small shoemaking business in the Bavarian enclave of Herzogenaurach, focusing primarily on hand-sewn athletic footwear. But as their business took off, the two brothers grew increasingly frustrated with each other. They disagreed on everything from politics, the future of the company and one another's choice in wives.

Finally, in the mid-1940s Rudolf left in a huff and set up a rival shop across the river, while Adi remained in the initial plant. His company was renamed Adidas, and in 1948 Rudolf registered his new company, Puma. NEWSWEEK's Jennifer Barrett spoke with Barbara Smit, author of the new book "Sneaker Wars" (Ecco; $26.95), about how a family feud spawned two of the biggest brands in global sports. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Most people wearing Pumas or Adidas today likely have no idea that two estranged German brothers founded the companies. How did you become interested in their story?
Barbara Smit: I didn't know it either, actually. I'd been wearing Adidas all my life and had no idea. But I was sent to Herzogenaurach, Germany [where both companies are based] by a French magazine to write a feature ahead of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. I began to find out more about this story of the two brothers, [and it had] all the elements of what makes a good story: family drama, the intimate rivalry between the two brothers in a very closed setting, two international brands, and all of it set in the world of sports.

Not morally dubious at all, she's looking after her own interests and you have every right to look after yours.

Out of your dealings with her so far - you got useful feedback and information, she got someone who she didn't have to employ, but who was at her beck and call as soon as she needed something, and who provided her with a good quality service, and which from the sound of it she didnt have to pay much for - she's done well out of you!

Incidentally, she doesnt sound like a particularly valuable client to have, if you get some good paying clients, I would suggest moving her to the back of the queue and dealing with her on your terms only. In particular, this would raise the hackles straight-away:

Go for it op. I don't have any employees yet but when I do, if one of them decided to crack on on their own and tried stealing my customers, well, I'd be pissed off, but such is the nature of business. If I treated him with the disrespect or carelessness this woman showed, I'd deserve it. Fire ahead, and good luck.

It's all in the game. Nothing morally dubious about it. Although if it is very quiet out there (ie going by what she's telling you), then are you sure it's worth the effort?

There's nothing wrong with trying to compete. That's what business lives on. Why not broaden your horizons and go international though? Ireland is a small market whatever field you're in. Try checking out things like elance. odesk and so on online. You will have a world of clients there.

Posts not really answering the question but making some fair points:

He was given money to edit the documents. It was a low rate but he agreed to it, and he decided himself to go back the second time even given the previous experience. She sounds like a b1tch, but she didn't tie him up and make him do it.

It's irrelevant anyway, he's moving on now and he can learn from his mistake, and hers.

OP, some sound advice given. I suspect you are a somewhat shocked by her treatment of you. That I am afraid is rthe real workld of business, learn from it and move on. It is such experiences that toughen you up and help you weed out the genuine from the chancers in the future. I would be really surprised that this is her first episode of using such tactics, but there are none more gullible than the niaive. You are now wiser and you are fired up.. in a perverse sort of way she may have actually done you a favour, though not deliberately!

Good luck.

So that just leaves one post which seems to be missing the point entirely:

There was no deal.

If she'd said that she would book X number of billable hours work upon the successful completion of your trial work, then sure. Or even if she'd implied that there definitely would be work. But all she did was say that "she'd probably have work for [you] after the Summer" - do you see that 'probably' there? Unfortunately the work wasn't there and so you didn't benefit.

A lot of freelancing involves in a sunk cost when seeking contracts. Replying to RFT's, buying lunch for a prospective client, writing up proposals or prototypes that you want to sell. Most of this is time spent is really time down the drain.

It's all about doing a cost-benefit-analysis on this kind of 'marketing'. How much will the business be worth? How much will the free work cost you? Is this person likely to actually have work or are they just tyre-kickers? The better you can assess, the better you can judge how much time you should put into a pitch, if you should even bother at all - at the end of the day, if you pitch for five gigs and only one converts, you'll want that this one gig also covers the cost of your failed pitches.

So it'll always be an overhead, but at least in time you'll be able to minimize it.

6 posts directly answering my question, 2 giving advice about not getting screwed over and just you obsessing over whether I should be upset, without understanding what I was upset about (nobody else seemed to have a problem processing the information) or whether there was a 'deal'...yeah, I will just keep 'telling myself that.' I think my reading comprehension is fine, thanks.